Marrying Young in a Modern Age

Profile

Levi Stermer: Story of a Young Marriage

Levi Stermer is a worship pastor at The Church International. He married his wife, Elle, when he was 18 years old and now has a son named Benaiah. He is an incredible mentor with a great sense of humor and a heart for God. This is his story of marrying young in a modern age.

The Preparation

Levi and Elle met in church when they were around 11 to 12 years old. Levi knew he was going to marry Elle for four years before they got into a relationship. During that time, he prayed God would guide her to become who she was called to be. Levi also spent time developing his character before marriage.

“He is a thoughtful husband and friend, and I have recently seen him become the most loving and caring father to our first child,” said Arielle Stermer.

The Proposal

Levi and Elle courted for three months before he proposed. He received permission from her parents first. In his house one evening, he had the idea of writing a song to propose with on Memorial Day Weekend during a church service.

After worship that Sunday, Levi and the team played the song he wrote for Elle. He then jumped off the altar and proposed over the speakers. About 400 people or so were huddled around.

The Objections

Levi chose to marry young because it was God’s timing for his life. Whenever Levi and Elle started thinking about getting married, quite a few people disagreed. Distant family members and acquaintances said they wouldn’t be able to make it and that being married young was too tough.

Levi believes those people were just trying to look out for them, but he knew what God called them to do. “Whenever Noah was building the ark, everyone thought that he was crazy too,” said Levi.

Advice to Young Married Couples

The Obstacles

Levi explained that because they were young, they weren’t as mature. He said he was fresh out of high school and only a teenager. They had to “microwave” their maturity to be able to operate as a couple.

“He is mature beyond his years, but he has not forgotten how to have fun,” said Chris Mire.

The Advantages

To Levi, one of the best things about being married young was starting off life as an adult together. They had never lived independently before or created separate lifestyles and habits. He also enjoyed being young and married. Young people like to have fun and go hang out with friends. Levi said, “Being able to do that together in a safe way because we were married was really great.”